The system is the invention of UC Santa Barbara
physicist Philip Lubin and Gary Hughes, a scientist and professor at California
Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Another, relatively smaller
system, is also being constructed, called DE-STARLITE. Scientists visualize
this travelling along with the hazardous asteroid and slowly deflecting it over
a longer period of time. Qicheng Zhang of the University of California, one of
the authors of the project, told Astrowatch.net “Generally speaking, the
technology is available today. The main problem with constructing a full
DE-STAR is the essential scale to be effective.”

In a research paper issued this year in the
journal Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, Zhang clarifies how lasers could move
or vaporize an asteroid on a collision course with Planet Earth. According to
him an orbital planetary defense system will be able heat asteroids to the
point of vaporize.

According to Astrowatch.net if DE-STAR had a
330-feet-wide laser array, it could easily divert asteroids 330 feet in
diameter from a distance of almost two million miles. A 20 kW kind of
DE-STARLITE functioning for 15 years could deflect a 1,000ft asteroid at a
distance of just 8,000 miles.

The DE-STAR system might be used for many other
missions, like stopping the spin of a rotating asteroid and attaining relativistic
propulsion.